I Will Not Be Driven Away

The arrogant mock me unmercifully, but I do not turn from your law.

Psalm 119:51

Do you know that Satan has a strategy to keep you away from God's Word? He wants you to ignore it, to leave it sitting on the shelf. He wants you to reject it, to walk away from it and choose to live your life on your own terms. And if you must persist in reading it, then he wants you to misunderstand the Bible and misapply it to your life. 

Consider the strategies the enemy employs in the Bible. The first time Satan attacked and tempted a human what did he say? Genesis 3:1- "Did God really say?" He starts by casting doubt on God's sure word. And the second thing he said was a direct contradiction of God's word. "You will not certainly die" (Genesis 3:4). First, he cast doubt on God's Word, then he called God Himself a liar. 

Consider one more example. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness the second of his three temptations was built upon a quote of Scripture. Satan actually quoted Scripture at Jesus trying to trick Him into sinning. He tried to confuse Jesus, to make Him think that God's Word said He should do what Satan was tempting Him to do. Of course, considering that Jesus Himself is the Word and the greatest revelation of who God is, Satan failed.

What strategies is the enemy using to try to keep you away from the Bible right now? For the psalmist it was mocking. Even in our world today, people line up to deride and mock those who openly believe God's Word is without error and to be taken as 100% true. In response to those who verbally abuse him the psalmist says, "...but I do not turn from your law." You can almost hear the psalmist cry out with determination, "I will not be driven away from God's good word!"

He refuses to be driven away because he knows that God's word is 

• Full of wonderful things- Psalm 119:18 & 129
• The source of life- Psalm 119:25 & 93
• Better than silver or gold- Psalm 119:72 & 127
• Eternal- Psalm 119:89
• Wisdom- Psalm 119:98-99
• Understanding- Psalm 119:130 & 169
• True- Psalm 119:151 & 160
• Peace- Psalm 119:165

So join with me in saying "I will not be driven away from God's Word!" Not by my busy schedule, or by force of habit, or by my sinful addictions, and certainly not by the mocking ridicule of naysayers. I believe that God's Word is true and good, so I will persevere in reading it and prayerfully applying it to my life. Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible is dedicated to sing the praises of God's good word. Dedicate your life to studying that Word, living by it, and giving glory to God for it. So what's the best way to start doing that today? Read it!